BJJ Fanatics WNO Buying Guide
Grappling and MMA events are built on hype. The hype works to help grow the audience and build the anticipation of the audience for the upcoming competition. In many instances, the hype can become so great that the event simply cannot live up to it. Last night's event Who's Number One (WNO) event put on by FloGrappling did more than live up to the hype. It surpassed it.
The WNO had everything that a grappling card could provide for the audience. The headlining match between multiple time ADCC champion Gordon "The King" Ryan and explosive ADCC champion Matheus Diniz put the pound for pound best No Gi grappler and his submission skills against a freak of nature in Matheus Diniz who had never been submitted in No Gi competition.
There was the David and Goliath match up between Elisabeth Clay and 4 time ADCC Champion Gabi Garcia who towered in height and size over the brown belt Clay. There was the late replacement of Gilbert Burns, who opted out because of an upcoming UFC title fight, replaced by the exciting Kody Steele in the match with #4 ranked grappler Dante Leon, putting Kody in the role of the underdog.
There was the matchup between the female gunslingers Nathalie Ribeiro and Luiza Monteiro. The Danaher Death Squad rolled deep to this event as both Nicky Ryan and Craig Jones also had matches against wrestler Tony Ramos and Roberto Jimenez respectively. The intrigue between Nicky Ryan and Tony Ramos would be the question of how the world-class wrestler would do against the youngest Ryan in a grappling ruleset. For Roberto JImenez, who has competed prolifically in 2020, the question would be how would he handle the leg attacks of the Aussie.
Every single match on the card could have been a headliner on its own. This event has set the bar extremely high for FloGrappling as they teased the news of their next WNO event in December. This should be an exciting way to end this tumultuous year for practitioners and competitors of BJJ.
Let's take a brief look at each match. Make sure you check out the BJJ Fanatics release for each of the featured athletes from our roster.
William Tackett Versus Jason Rau
WNO would not be the first time Jason Rau and William Tackett had met. They had previously competed at the ADCC West Coast Trials in 2019. There, Tackett, who was still a blue belt, bested Jason Rau by points.
This time, William Tackett would secure a statement making victory with his submission attack onslaught. It would only take the now brown belt Tackett about 4 minutes to secure a triangle and ultimately finish the fight with a kimura.
This will most likely not be the last time Rau and Tackett will meet with the ADCC West Coast Trials looming "sometime" in the future, but this fight should leave William Tackett feeling confident being up 2-0, leaving us fans hungry for the trilogy.
For more from Checkmat brown belt and longtime training partner of Kody Steele, William Tackett, check out PASSING TO SIDE AND BACK CONTROL available at the BUY NOW link below!
Nathalie Ribeiro Versus Luiza Monteiro
In an exciting back and forth shootout where Luiza Monteiro fought from various leg entanglements for heel hook finishes and Nathalie Ribeiro defended and attacked with counter submissions, it ultimately came down to a back take and near mount take by Nathalie Ribeiro when Luiza Monteiro sat back for a leg lock that tipped the judges in Ribeiro's favor in this event. The 15 minute match was extremely exciting and so evenly matched that Ribeiro taking her back and threatening the mount most likely stood out to the judges.
Monteiro is a master of the foot and leg attack. To learn more about her game, check out FUNDAMENTAL FOOT AND LEG ATTACKS available from BJJ Fanatics at the BUY NOW link below!
Geo Martinez Versus Paulo Miyao
Geo Martinez put together an active game plan of guard passing attempts and leg attacks. Though Paulo Miyao was able to stop the guard pass and defend against the leg attacks, Martinez was the more active of the competitors.
Miyao found himself on the defense and was unable to secure offensive positioning of his own except for a minor burst late in the match. This allowed Geo to win over the judges and secure a split decision victory in this match.
For more from Paulo Miyao check out the Miyao Brothers instructional BERIMBOLO AND BEYOND available from BJJ Fanatics at the BUY NOW LINK below.
Dante Leon Versus Kody Steele
In what could easily be called fight of the night #4 ranked grappler Dante Leon met the fiery up and comer Kody Steele who was a late replacement to Gilbert "Durinho" Burns who had dropped out of the event due to an upcoming UFC title shot opportunity.
The put the Combat Jiu Jitsu Champ in the role of underdog facing ADCC vet Leon. The match started off explosively with a phenomenal double leg takedown that took Kody by surprise. This set the tone for the entire match as Dante Leon controlled the pace and kept Kody Steele on his heels fighting out of Dante Leon's repeated guillotine attempts.
For more from Kody Steele, check out Wrestling Entries for Grappling available at the BUY NOW link below from BJJ Fanatics.
If you saw the fight, you probably wondered how Kody Steele survived those extremely tight Guillotine Chokes from Dante Leon. If you want to learn the nuances of Dante Leon's Guillotine game, a game that kept the explosive Kody Steele from being offensive and kept him on the defense the entire match, check out GUILLOTINE CHOKE SYSTEMS from BJJ Fanatics at the BUY NOW Link below.
Roberto Jimenez Versus Craig Jones
In another fantastic match up, the #3 Craig Jones and #4 Roberto Jimenez of the 88kg division met for an exciting back and forth. There was no secret to the newest member of the Danaher Death squad, Craig Jones, gameplan. He was going after a well-known weakness in Jimenez' game, leglock defense.
Roberto did a great job fighting off the first series of leg attack entries, but it would be the patience and leg lock experience of Craig Jones that would ultimately allow him to secure the leg lock victory.
For more from Roberto Jimenez, check out ATTACKING THE BACK EVERY MATCH available from BJJ Fanatics at the BUY NOW link below.
Craig Jones was a leg lock expert before he started training with John Danaher and the Squad. Check out the series that put him on the instructional mat DOWN UNDER LEG ATTACKS available at the BUY NOW link below from BJJ Fanatics!
Matheus Diniz Versus Gordon Ryan
The match between ADCC Champions Matheus Diniz and Gordon Ryan was everything is should have been. In the sub only format, both Gordon and Matheus were equally at benefit. Gordon Ryan plays a plodding methodical game that ultimately wears down his opponents until he decides to attack using his many submission attacks. For Matheus, who had never been submitted in No Gi competition, he planned to use strength and explosion to take down The King.
Gordon Ryan was able to take advantage of a sweep to secure the mount where he was able to keep Matheus Diniz controlled for about 6 minutes moving higher and higher isolating Diniz' arms above his head and threatening head and arm chokes. This extended period mounted took a great deal out of King Kong Diniz game.
Gordon would use his well-known shoulder crunch to set up a leg attack and heel hook to finish the match seventeen minutes in. He would become the first athlete to submit Matheus Diniz in No Gi competition. Gordon has struggled to find opponents as of late and Diniz was the perfect competitor to test his still-developing skills and send a message to future opponents wherever they may be.
For more from Matheus Diniz, check out his newest instructional NO GI POWER PASSING available from BJJ Fanatics at the BUY NOW Link below.
For more from The King, Gordon Ryan check out his latest in the SYSTEMATICALLY ATTACKING series focused on OPEN GUARD SUPINE POSITION. You can get it here at BJJ Fanatics at the BUY NOW Link below.
John Danaher's Impact on WNO
We would be remiss to not mention the huge impact that John Danaher had on the WNO event last night. Not only did Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones secure leglock victories using the system developed and refined by the squad led by John Danaher in the blue basement in Manhattan, but Nicky Ryan the younger brother of Gordon also secured the fastest submission of the night with a 25 second victory over world-class wrestler Tony Ramos. Though, Ramos is a virtual beginner in the world of submission grappling, he did present a definite test to the young Nicky Ryan. Nicky made short work with his heel hook victory.
To learn the system that each of these athletes, Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, and Nicky Ryan used to finish their opponents at the WNO event, check out the OG leg lock instructional Enter the System: Leglocks from John Danaher available at the BUY NOW Link below.
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